


A Sketchbook of You

by S_naly



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Duelling, Fluff, Hufflepuff!Yuuri, M/M, Ravenclaw!Otabek, Romance, Skater!Victor, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slytherin!Victor, Slytherin!Yuri, artist!yuuri, not really sure what to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-09-15 17:14:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9247532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S_naly/pseuds/S_naly
Summary: Nearly two weeks ago, Yuuri came across the most beautiful sight he seen. He had gotten out of bed early to hopefully sketch and paint the fresh snow-ridden Hogwarts scenery, but was distracted instead with an ethereal figure gracefully ice skating on the Great Lake.





	1. Good Morning

Shivering, Yuuri Katsuki began to meticulously go through his routine of setting up his art supplies. Winter had arrived at Hogwarts with freezing temperatures and countless snowfall, but despite the biting cold morning, Yuuri remained determined to finish prepping his supplies a safe distance away from the frozen-over Great Lake. His stiff fingers could hardly hold a pencil tight enough to actually sketch right now, and his teeth chattered a million times a second, even though his thick Hufflepuff scarf covered half his face, but it was all worth it.

Nearly two weeks ago, Yuuri came across the most beautiful sight he seen. He had gotten out of bed early to hopefully sketch and paint the fresh snow-ridden Hogwarts scenery, but was distracted instead with an ethereal figure gracefully ice skating on the Great Lake. The sight was breath-taking as a ray of light peeked through the gray clouds and sparkled on the silvery hair of the skater. Before he knew it, he sat down where he stood and immediately started sketching in his book. Despite the cold making his fingers stiff, they flew across the paper in excitement and recorded the art dancing on the lake - the ray of light, the brilliant ground, even the way the skater’s hair flowed.

But that was two weeks ago.

Now, Yuuri’s sketchbook was nearly filled with intricate details of the ethereal man skating on the ice. He didn’t mean to make this morning visit a routine, but each day he found himself getting out of bed and walking towards the lake, art supplies in hand. As the days turned into weeks, Yuuri learned new information about the skater, like he was a Slytherin and that he was definitely a morning person. Phichit Chulanont, his dorm mate and best friend, already informed him that it was awkward to draw someone at a distance without introducing their self, but Yuuri justified that it’s already been two weeks, and that surely by now, the person would know about Yuuri’s presence near the lake. Besides, he didn’t want discomfort marring the Slytherin’s peaceful countenance. The tranquility of the morning reflected upon the person’s face and Yuuri didn’t want to change anything about it. He was content to draw from afar.

=0=

Victor Nikiforov rushed to his favorite spot at Hogwarts, ice skates dangling in his hands. Since he stayed up too late finishing the last touches of his Transfiguration essay, his internal alarm clock didn’t wake him up at the usual time, which meant he had less time to relax on ice before the stresses of the day begun. The Great Lake, no matter what season it is, will always be his number one favorite. It was his one and only place to relax. In the spring, he’ll simply float and allow his body to relax into the cold water, but it was winter that captured his love. The frozen over lake reminded him so much of home, where he would usually skate to empty his mind. Sure there were merpeople and the giant squid somewhere in the depths, but understanding such creatures and relatively getting along with them came with the perks of living in the Slytherin dormitories. 

Victor halted in his tracks.

There was another student not so far away from the lake. He sighed, disappointed at the idea of sharing the lake, and squinted his eyes to see if perhaps he could persuade the person to move else where. 

A flash of yellow caught his eyes and his grin widened. “Perfect, a Hufflepuff,” Victor thought, quietly making his way towards the other student in hopes to catch the unwelcome stranger by surprise. 

Closing in on the Hufflepuff, Victor noticed a near circle of art supplies surrounding the other student. Muggle pencils and pens littered the ground, intricately stabbed upright into the snow as if they were sprouting little flowers. A sketchbook laid hazardly upon the snow behind the Hufflepuff’s side while he continued setting up.

Another thing Victor noticed was that the Hufflepuff wasn’t very observant. He’d been standing behind him for minutes now, hoping that he’ll be noticed but the Hufflepuff hasn’t even turned from the lake. He could probably pick up the sketchbook without the Hufflepuff noticing, and that’s exactly what he did.

He opened the book, skimming through the beginning of drawn mystical beings and dogs, thinking how typical it was that a Hufflepuff drew only cute animals, until the pages of puppies and nifflers turned into scenes of a figure dancing on a lake. He paused at one, admiring the details in the clouds and rays shining upon the lake, before flipping further into the book, eager to see more of the newer sketches. 

Just as he turned a page, the book was snatched from his prying hands, ripping his new favorite art piece in half. Instantly, irritation bubbled within him as Victor looked at the torn paper in his hands. “Look what you did,” Victor accused, cradling the ripped artwork in his hands. “Why did you ruin such beauty?”

He looked up from his hands in anger, ready to scold the Hufflepuff for what he did, but the expression on the Hufflepuff’s face didn’t match the current situation. Wide brown eyes, mouth slightly agape, ears as red as his cheeks - if Victor didn’t know any better, the Hufflepuff looked embarrassed.

And guilty. 

Very guilty.

“What are you doing out here, Hufflepuff?” Victor smiled.

“Nothing,” the other student quickly replied, “and it’s Yuuri.”

Victor took a step closer, raising his arm to gently caress Yuuri’s warm ears, “Really? No secret rendezvous? Nothing to feel guilty about?”

“N-nothing,” Yuuri said adamantly, steeling himself from reacting to the Slytherin’s touch. He should've listened to Phichit, should've introduced himself to the skater sooner, should've stopped himself from coming back. Now the skater’s seen the pictures and he had no reasonable explanation as to why those pictures were there without sounding like a weird stalker. “In fact,” Yuuri said, looking to his non-existent watch, “I have to go now.”

Hugging his sketchbook to his chest, Yuuri pushed past the Slytherin and made his way back to the safety and comfort of Hogwarts’ walls. To anyone who didn’t know Yuuri, he looked calm and collected as he stomped through the snow, but internally, he was beyond distraught. Internally, he was remembering every supply he left behind and already planning on re-buying them because there was no way he was turning back and getting them. External Yuuri didn’t care about what just happened, but not even an inch inside was he already strategizing how he was going to avoid that specific Slytherin for the next two years. 


	2. Chapter 2

Victor found the first couple days of Yuuri ducking into broom closets and tapestries to avoid him humorous. It was still funny as the week had passed, but as a month of avoidance ticked by, a whole month of seeing a dark-haired Hufflepuff scramble to the opposite direction in panic was wearing Victor’s patience thin. Not to mention the not-so-secretive whispers behind his back murmuring about how terrible he is for terrifying a poor helpless Hufflepuff. 

Honestly, in the past week alone, he was approached by various different house members, who blatantly indicated that they thought he was different but were clearly wrong about him. He tried clearing it up, informed them that the reason he kept searching for the Hufflepuff was to return a few things and apologize, but their selective hearing only allowed them to hear apologize, in which they nodded their head and patted him on the back like their talk changed him. 

_ ‘Dumbledore would’ve been impressed with how well inter-house relationships are,’ _ Victor thought, as he lied in wait to ambush Yuuri. This wasn’t his proudest moment, being resorted to hiding inside a broom closet, but after week one of being avoided, the weight of the art supplies in his bag started to get heavier and heavier.

He did not feel guilty.

No.

He just wasn’t used to having extra things in his bag. 

That was it. 

And the constant reminder encouraged him to search for Yuuri, who still managed to escape his grasps at every situation but now Victor was determined. Especially so, when the last person he expected to care approached him about the subject. Yuri Plisetsky, an underclassman who Victor thought secretly admired him, would usually shout at him for doing nothing and then demand that it was his responsibility as an upperclassman to help him improve his techniques in Defence Against the Dark Arts, which Victor was arguably the best at. But two days ago, Yuri cornered him in the Slytherin common room and in between threats and insults, he shouted that Victor had no right harassing Yuuri just because he was better at dueling. 

What happened next probably didn’t help the situation at hand, but Victor was overwhelmed, exhausted, and annoyed. Ever since the Hufflepuff started avoiding him, whenever he’d try to relax on the ice, the art supplies weighing in his bag would also weigh on his mind.

And that wasn’t fair. 

All Victor wanted was some peace and relaxation before the day started, not a dark-haired Hufflepuff distracting him constantly.

So, his iron will snapped and he gripped Yuri’s chin with his hand, squeezing slightly to force him to pucker his lips and stop talking. “Yuri,” Victor said as gently as he could, “do you want to challenge me?” He squeezed a bit harder and instantly placed a smile back on his face, “You look like a fish like this.”

Anger colored Yuri’s face as he shoved Victor’s hand off, he opened his mouth as if to retaliate but quickly looked about the room and stormed out without a word. 

Victor sighed and settled back into his seat until he remembered the audience that witnessed the entire thing and also made his way out of the common room. 

Now here he was, after a day of plotting, hiding in the broom closet closest to Yuuri’s favorite spot, a large bay window seat overlooking the Great Lake. He knew for a fact that this was Yuuri’s favorite spot. After all, he spent nearly a month relentlessly searching for him so he can finally return his belongings. Victor wouldn’t be surprised if he knew more about Yuuri than anyone else, location-wise. 

_ ‘I am not a stalker,’  _ Victor thought,  _ ‘ I just want to return these stuff to their rightful owner.’ _

The cleaning supplies reverberated as a loud thud could be heard from outside in the hall followed by angry, incoherent whispers and a litter of belongings crashing onto the floor. Victor squeezed his eyes shut and debated whether or not he should give away his location. The supplies shook again and Victor threw the door open, wand focused, as he glowered at the offensive group cornering a trembling student. He knew what was happening, and there was no way he was allowing it to continue. 

“What the hell,” a person shouted, spinning on their feet with their wand pointed at the newcomer, “go back where you came from and-”

“It’s fine, Maury,” another student said, “it’s Victor. He doesn’t mind if we do this, especially to this guy.”

Victor glanced at the boy thrown against the wall, Yuuri Katsuki. 

His wand trembled in unbridled rage. How.  _ Dare. They. _

“ _ Furnu-”  _ Victor started.

“Stop!” Yuuri shouted, “It’s fine.”

“It is not  _ fine _ , Yuuri, look what they did to you.”

“It is fine. Let them go.”

Victor stared down the offenders, keeping his wand pointed at them, and growled, “Leave.”

The three boys spun around and sprinted away from the scene, terrified of facing Victor “Silver-Tongue” Nikiforov. The remaining two boys, however, stared at each other, one attempting to calm his rage and the other confused, but neither willing to start the conversation. It seemed like hours passed as they refused to be the first to say anything.

“What were you thinking?”

“What were you doing in the broom closet?”

Victor turned his gaze and remember the scattered belongings on the floor. He bent to pick them up, hoping to stall the inevitable answer that’ll fall through his lips. “I asked you first,” he said.

“We both talked at the same time,” Yuuri stated, raising his eyebrows and he too started gathering his things. 

“Well I’m asking you now,” Victor paused, tugging at Yuuri’s scarf, “what in the world were you thinking?”

“At the time, I wasn’t.”

“You weren’t thinking,” Victor sighed, pulling harder at Yuuri’s scarf until he fell from his squatting position. “Someone told me you were the best at dueling, and yet you couldn’t handle those three?”

Yuuri rose to his feet. “I could’ve taken on the three Slytherin  _ and _ you, if I wanted too,” he argued.

“Really,” Victor taunted, as he grinned and moved closer to Yuuri, “should we try it?”

“Do you want to tell me why you came out of the broom closet?” Yuuri countered, puffing out his chest and holding his chin high. He was not going to succumb to this person’s intimidation. “Why were  _ you _ hiding in there? Got a secret rendezvous? Something to feel guilty about?”

Stunned, Victor gaped at this different Yuuri. Hufflepuffs usually stammered and pushed him away when he got this close, but here he was, standing against him defiantly. If Victor didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought this Hufflepuff was immune to him, but just to be sure, he reached out his hand and gently pushed back Yuuri’s hair, revealing his red-hot ear. 

Victor’s grin grew at the sight.

Yuuri was affected by him.

“I wanted to return your supplies,” he replied, pulling out a small case holding Yuuri’s things. “You left it when you ran away that one morning.”

“I did not run away,” Yuuri huffed, reaching to grab the case. 

“Yes, you did,” Victor replied, lifting the case up and far away. “ _ Why  _ did you run, anyways? And avoided me?”

Yuuri’s face burned at the thought of the answers to both those questions. “Because of - you -uhm..” he stuttered. He couldn’t tell him that he was avoiding him because he had pages and pages of his face in his sketchbook. 

So he did the one thing he could.

“ _ Accio  _ case,” he whispered and ran in the other direction.

Victor smiled at the retreating form and shouted, “My name’s Victor!”

“I know!” echoed back. 

Chuckling to himself, Victor happily made his way back to the Slytherin dorms, reflecting on the ridiculousness of the afternoon and shy, charming Hufflepuffs. 


	3. Chapter 3

If Yuuri was honest, breakfast at Hogwarts was one of his most favorite things, along with lunch and dinner, but all were second in comparison to his mother’s homemade katsudon. Nothing could quite top that, not even the katsudons the house elves would make for him whenever he felt homesick. It never tasted the same, but he appreciated it all the same.

Either way, Yuuri still loved meals at Hogwarts. It reminded him of his family, coming together and eating, sharing their news and how their day went. Meals at Hogwarts brought warmth to Yuuri even on his bad days.

This morning was no different.

But, it wasn’t the same warmth.

Because he was late.

_So_ late.

And he sprinted from his dorm to the Great Hall faster than he ever had before.

Oh, he was warm alright and slightly sweating, but he made it in time for breakfast. He burst through the doors, slightly panting in exhaustion, and hurried towards Phichit at the Hufflepuffs’ table. A quick flash of silver and wild hand movements caught his attention before he heard the loud shout of “Good morning, Yuuri!”

His face flushed, feeling warm for an entirely different reason again. “Good morning,” he called back with a short wave.

“Come sit with me,” Victor beamed.

Yuuri shook his head, glancing at the heads turned in his direction. “Sorry, not today. I have to talk to Phichit,” he blurted out, feeling a pang of guilt as Victor pouted and looked at the empty seat next to him longingly. “I-I’ll sit next to you tomorrow,” Yuuri paused, “if the offer still stands.”

Immediately, Victor flashed him a brilliant smile and winked.

Returning the smile with one of his own, Yuuri turned to sit near his friends and slammed into the Hufflepuff table as Phichit pulled his robes. “What was that?” Yuuri grumbled, “Was that necessary?”

“I can ask you the same thing, Yuuri,” Phichit said. “The Victor ‘Silver-Tongued Devil’ Nikiforov just invited you to eat with him.”

“Is he really called the ‘Silver-Tongued Devil?”

“No,” Phichit paused, before throwing Yuuri a cheesy grin, “but he’ll definitely _lure you_ , Yuuri. You’re so innocent.”

His ears burned at the words, but he tried to keep his face straight. “I am not,” he said.

“Yuuri, he was _waiting_ for you to arrive. He winked and smiled at you, and you wanted to talk to _me._ ”

“Maybe I have something important to tell you,” Yuuri mumbled, as he chewed on fluffy pancakes and strawberries.

“Let’s hear it then.” Phichit raised his eyebrows, waiting for the news that was more important than what was currently happening.

Silence passed between them.

Nodding his head smugly, Phichit uncrossed his arms and booped Yuuri on the nose. “So how did you meet Victor?”

Yuuri tried.

He really did.

But his face flushed as his mind raced with the events of the past two months, of the closeness of Victor’s face to his, and of a soulful skater in the misty glow of morning’s natural magic.

“Are you blushing?” Phichit paused, staring closely at Yuuri’s rosy cheeks, undecided whether it was his normal morning joy or something more. “ _You are!”_ He whispered excitedly, eyes flickering back and forth between the two, attempting find the connection.

Phichit gasped.

“He’s your skater, isn’t he?” Phichit asked. His eyes widened in wonder and glee. “He’s the one you’ve been drawing for the past two months. That’s why you won’t let me see your sketchbook anymore.”

Yuuri groaned, his face in his hands since Phichit’s first revelation. “Yes, but to be fair, I didn’t know who he was until Yuuko told me about him.”

To say Phichit’s spit take was impressive would be an understatement, in that moment, to Yuuri, he looked like an orange-juice-breathing dragon sneezing with his eyes ready to pop out. It was incredible.

“How can you not know about him? Everyone knows about his skills,” Phichit stopped in thought, “although, you never did pay attention to gossip so that does make sense.”

“We have to go, Phitchit,” Yuuri said, hoping for an escape, “it's time for class. We can talk about this later.”

“Yuuri, you may have forgotten, but today we have _all_ our classes together. We’ll talk about this now.”

=0=

They walked to their second class together with Phichit occasionally stopping and staring in amazement at Yuuri. Potions was a disaster. With Yuuri recalling everything that had happened, his nerves were everywhere. He stirred in the wrong amount of ingredients, chopped the polypody when he should’ve diced, and nearly tipped over the entire cauldron. Which, now that he thought about it, would’ve been a better excuse to ask for a chance to remake the potion.

Yuuri just hadn’t planned on telling anyone what happened. Not because he was secretive but because he wasn’t sure if he could retell everything with a calm composure. Potions was proof of that.

Victor had an affect on him.

And Yuuri was still trying to figure out what it was.

“I understand the skating and Victor being gentlemanly for returning your art supplies,” Phichit stated, breaking Yuuri’s thoughts, “but how is Yuuko involved?”

Yuuri sighed, as he readied himself for another embarrassing confession.

“Well, you know Yuuko has always been like a big sister to me. Somehow she heard that I was being bullied by Victor, and being the Gryffindor that she is, found me when I was hiding from him and asked whether or not she needed to hex him.

_“Who’s Victor?”_

_Yuuko grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “One of the best duellers in Hogwarts, other than you, Yuuri,” she proclaimed._

_“I’m not-”_

_“Don’t even try to deny it. We’ve done this a dozen times.”_

_Yuuri huffed, “I don’t even know how this Victor looks like.”_

_She clasped her hands together in excitement, “Oh Yuuri, he’s fantastic. You should see him duel. Its incredible. I’ve got Defense Against the Dark Arts with him and duelling days are to live for.” Yuuko reached for his hands, her eyes sparkling in mischief, “When do you have a free period, Yuuri?”_

_Hesitantly, Yuuri answered, “Right now.” Before he knew it, Yuuri was dragged to the Slytherin and Gryffindor Defense class by a tiny five foot girl; a tiny five foot girl made of only spirit and determination. “Yuuko, I don’t think I’m meant to be here,” he said, tugging at his yellow and black scarf._

_“Coach Yakov-”_

_“Coach Yakov?” Yuuri said in confusion._

_“Yeah, that what he wants us to call him on duelling days,” chuckled Yuuko. “Anyways, he says anyone can come in, as long as they're prepared to fight if they’re chosen.”_

_Immediately Yuuri attempted to shake off her tight grip, shaking his head in denial. “Yuuko, I-”_

_“Victor!” A gruff voice called out as the crowd cheered when a familiar silver-haired person walked onto the duelling mats._

_It was_ him.

_Yuuri knew him._

_Sort of._

_He turned towards Yuuko again and pleaded at her with his eyes to release him. Apparently, the person he’s been avoiding was called Victor, and Yuuri had to leave, because who was he to break his new record of no awkward meetings? He had been too determined to avoid the skater to fail now._

_The elderly Russian man turned his gaze towards Yuuri’s way and he froze. ‘_ Don’t draw attention to yourself, Yuuri, _” he told himself, trying to fit into the crowd. ‘_ He won’t pick you if you remain unnoticed.”

_“And Christophe,” Coach Yakov bellowed over the roar of the class._

_Yuuri slumped in relief. He was safe. He didn’t have to go. Thank goodness._

_A nudge to his stomach turned his attention back to Yuuko, who pointed to the arena and back to her eyes._

_‘_ Ah, yes, the duel _,” Yuuri thought, as the two figures bowed to each other and drew their wands. Both waited patiently for the first to cast a spell, but as time ticked on, Chris proved his Gryffindor status as he lashed spell after spell towards Victor, who expertly blocked each one and countered in between._

_Yuuri faced Chris, analyzing his stance and the types of charms he spewed out. His right side was left open and his wand movements weren’t exact, which, Yuuri assumed, was why his spells weren’t as efficient. ‘_ He was good, _’ Yuuri thought, ‘_ but if Victor’s as good as Yuuko says he is, then he’ll use an immobulus charm pointed at Chris’ right and end it quickly. _’_

_An explosion went off a few feet away from Chris, surprising Yuuri, who may have screamed lightly, and everyone one else who was watching. He looked at Victor and stared in confusion. ‘_ Why would he use _bombarda?_ That wasn’t necessary to win,’ _he wondered, until “Expelliarmus” was heard and Chris conceded. Victor gracefully shook the hand Chris extended and pulled him in for a hug. It was a happy event._

_So unlike Yuuri’s experience in duelling._

_The smile on Victor’s face glistened brighter in comparison to the sweat running down his face. His eyes shone with excitement and joy but, Yuuri cocked his head in confusion, not for winning. Yes, Victor was happy to win but clearly, he was more delighted for Chris._

_Yuuri’s fingers instinctively reached for his sketchbook and pencils to draw the comradery, but stopped himself short. He had neither of those things with him at the moment and it would do him no good to pull them out in this class, so instead he nudged Yuuko and waved good bye to her. He had to draw._

“And that’s how I learned of Victor,” Yuuri admitted to Phichit.

“You mean, you’ve been sneaking into his classes to draw him?” Phichit stared at him questionably.

“No,” Yuuri defended, “I’m analyzing his skills. For future reference.”

At that statement, Phichit’s eyebrow flew off his face. Well, that’s at least how Yuuri imagined it. He was surprised they haven’t yet, considering how high the brows were on Phichits forehead now.

“Phichit, if you continue to-” A force slammed onto the books he was carrying, causing them to scatter amongst the floor.  Yuuri jerkily faced the culprit, shock and anger depicted on his face, as he took in who shoved his books down.

A short blonde with rage-fueled green eyes stared back at him.

“I’m Yuri Plisetsky. Fight me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. Please be patient with me, I'm terrible at updating on a schedule. BUT, I am determined to finish this story, so bear with me. Thanks, everyone.


	4. Chapter 4

_ “I’m Yuri Plisetsky. Fight me.” _

Yuuri stared at the angry underclassman blankly. “Is that how you always instigate your fights?” He asked curiously. “Does it usually work?”

The smaller Yuri fumed, gritting his teeth in frustration. “Shut up, Piggy,” he growled. “Shut up and fight me.”

Smirking, Yuuri tousled the younger Yuri’s blonde hair and tilted his head, mussing the hair even more afterwards. “For such a small ball of fiery rage, you sure have really soft hair.”

“There can only be one Yuri,” the younger shouted, swatting the warm hand from his head. “And I aim to be the best dueller here in Hogwarts.”

“Okay,” Yuuri said plainly.

A faint squeal of excitement sounded from his right.

“What,” the blonde said, baffled. 

“I said okay.”

“I know what you said. How dare you be so nonchalant about it. You should be,” Yuri paused, debating his word choices, “excited to duel against me.”

“Isn’t scared usually-”

Phichit cleared his throat, turning the attention to him. Flashing them his best smile, he clapped his hands together and suggested, “Both of you should continue this in that duelling class that Yuuri’s been sneaking in.”

“I haven’t been sneaking in” Yuuri interjected.

But Phichit continued on, “With Coach...what was his name?”

“Yakov,” Yuri said contemplatively. “Yes. Yes, that’ll work.”

“We can’t-” Yuuri replied, before Phichit smothered the remaining of the sentence with his hands to Yuuri’s mouth.

“Yuuri agrees, he’ll see you the next time there’s an open duelling session,” Phichit hurried said, flicking and swishing his wand to pick up Yuuri’s fallen books. “Now shoo, you pesky kitten.”

Yuri huffed, spinning on his heels and rejoined his Ravenclaw companion gleefully.

Phichit waited a few moments before releasing Yuuri and stepping a good distance away. 

“Phichit,” Yuuri groaned, “why didn’t you stop me?”

“You wanted to do this, Yuuri. You agreed first.”

“My mind blanked the instant he asked for a fight and the words just came out. You know I can’t resist a challenge.”

“ _ Asking _ was not what he was doing,” Phichit mumbled under his breath.

“What?”

“It’s too late to turn back now, Yuuri. Besides, that underclassman probably just wanted help, and this was the best way he could ask for it.”

“Fine. But why did you have to suggest duelling at the Yakov’s?”

“Well, for one, to show others you aren’t to be bullied and,” Phichit grinned, “to help you with your love life.” 

=0=

Breakfast is a horrible thing. It was a beast from the deepest corner of the Forbidden Forest. A disguise of beauty when in actuality, what lurks beneath it is a cruel, icy darkness. Yuuri hated breakfast.

“Yuuri, please, for the love of Merlin, please stop pacing the room. We’re trying to sleep,” Phitchit groaned from beneath his blankets. 

“Yeah, we don’t wake up at dawn like you do,” his other dorm mate, Guang-Hong Ji, mumbled half-asleep.

“What am I going to do?” Yuuri asked to the room, continuing his pacing. “I told Victor I’ll sit with him for breakfast. Maybe I’ll pretend I overslept. That happens often enough.” He paused. “No, I can’t do that. I promised him. I can’t lie to him.”

Yawning, Phichit threw off his heavenly blankets and crawled out of bed. “Yuuri, if it means that much to you, I’ll come with you as moral support.”

A small ‘Thank Merlin’  came from Guang-Hong’s side of the room as Yuuri hugged Phichit, “Thank you, Phichit. I owe you one.”

Phichit hugged back for warmth and mumbled, “Just remember that I was your wing-man and third wheeler when you and Victor get married.”

Yuuri laughed and nodded his assurance, relieved that he’ll have someone he knew with him at the Slytherin tables. He grabbed his bookbag and sketchpad as Phichit got ready and they both left Guang-Hong to sleep in peace once they were done. 

Entering the Great Hall seemed like a daunting task now that he knew he wasn’t going to eat at his usual place. It felt like all eyes were watching him as he, a Hufflepuff, was walking down the Slytherin aisles toward Victor. It certainly wasn’t reasonable. He was sure that everyone was busy with their own conversation but Yuuri still felt the phantom eyes boring into his back. He gripped Phichit’s hand slightly, finding comfort that he wasn’t alone and took a deep, calming breath.

“Good morning, Victor,” Yuuri said over the chatter of the Hall, flashing a quick smile. 

Victor whipped his head around from the conversation he was engrossed in, and stood up to hug Yuuri in response. “Please, sit,” he said, guiding them to the seats around him, “I’m glad you brought your boyfriend too!”

“We’re not together,” Phichit quickly reassured, picking the seat across from Victor so Yuuri would have to sit near him. “I’m not the muse to his artistic talents, unfortunately. ”

Yuuri facepalmed and huffed in disbelief before turning to Victor and earnestly said, “This is my friend, Phichit. He likes to say ridiculous things, so feel free to ignore the things he says.”

“Even if I ask him nicely, he wouldn’t draw me,” Phichit continued.

“Like that,” Yuuri mumbled.

“So even if I pleaded, I wouldn’t get a picture drawn either?” Victor chimed in.

Phichit flashed him a cheeky smile, “ _ You  _ wouldn’t have to go that far.” 

Yuuri kicked Phichit underneath the table and casually reached over to fill his plate with food. “I don’t draw often,” he said hesitantly, or lying, as Phichit would’ve commented if he wasn’t rubbing the pain from his shin. “And I can’t draw people well. Landscapes and animals are what I do best.”

Victor eyed Yuuri warily, “That’s not what I saw when I looked through your sketchbook.”

“He let you see his sketchbook?” Phichit exclaimed in disbelief, “He doesn’t even let me touch it.”

“Well, I may have peeked inside without his permission,” Victor confessed, “but that’s because he didn’t notice me behind him.”

Hands slammed on top of the dining table like lightning striking the earth, glasses shook at the force, Yuuri and Phichit jolted from their seat, as did the surrounding students, but Victor remained unfazed, simply turning in his seat and greeting the ferocious mop of blonde hair and his stoic companion.

The said ferocious blonde whipped his head back and forth between Yuuri and Victor before landing on his fellow Slytherin and warned, “Victor, I told you to stop bullying Yuuri.”

Victor gasped at the accusation, “I am not bullying him.”

“I don’t know why you think that, but he really isn’t,” Yuuri assured.

The blonde glared at Yuuri and forced his way between the two to sit. “We’ll have breakfast here today, Otabek,’ he said, “so that Victor can’t scare my new duelling opponent away.”

The dark-haired Ravenclaw, who Yuuri assumed was Otabek, sighed in defeat and sat across from Yuri, near Phichit. Otabek knew there was no way to deter Yuri once he made his decision. He may come across aggressive, but he meant well, for the most part. “Yuratchka,” Otabek said softly, “you should just tell Yuuri you’re worried about him.”

Yuuri chuckled, as the blonde persistently denied it and claimed wild excuses as to why he wasn’t. Seeing his enjoyment, Yuri rapidly turned to him and pointed, “You better not forget about our duel!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Yuuri confirmed. “Who can forget when you introduced yourself with the words, ‘Fight me’ and smashed my books down?” 

Yuri glared at Victor, remembering all the times he was waiting alone on the duelling mats and angrily shoved more syrup drizzled pancakes into his mouth. 

Smiling, Yuuri settled into the natural flow of the conversation amongst the group. ‘ _ Perhaps having breakfast at a different table isn’t so bad _ ,’ he thought as he watched Yuri and Victor bicker over forgotten promises. It wasn’t a peaceful family like the Hufflepuffs, but it was family that certainly kept each other on their toes. He sipped his cup of orange juice, nodding his head in agreement to Otabek’s theories and comparisons for Muggle Studies. 

It was nice.

It was peaceful

He was completely unprepared when Phichit nonchalantly asked, “Victor, will you be watching Yuuri’s duel?”

“Of course, I will,” Victor replied, “I’ve got to see why he’s so sure about being able to best me in fight.”

“You may be known for your silver tongue, Victor, but our Yuuri here can certainly hold his own against you,” Phichit added, smirking into his cup.

Raising his brow to the challenge, Victor lifted his glass of milk and gladly bragged, “I taught our Yuri everything he knows. Yuuri won’t be defeating his quite so easily.”

“First off,” Yuuri interjected, “I could defeat Yuri without a problem. Secondly, don’t take your eyes off me during the duel, Victor. I’ll show you why taking you apart will be easy.”

The table went silent at his claims, making his palms break out in nervous sweat. Yuuri crossed his arms in attempt to exude confidence, but mainly did so, so he could wipe his damp palms on his robes. Minutes passed while he kept his focus on Victor, however he realized his mistake when he gaze met the intense glare belonging to his blonde counterpart.

“I will win today, Yuuri,” the blonde proclaimed, getting out of his seat. “And when I do, you will be called Yurio from now on.” He spun on his heels, his robes flying behind him, shortly revealing a tiger printed t-shirt, and left the Great Hall.

Yuuri heard a faint smack to his side, followed by a defeated sigh, and looked over to Otabek, who had his palm to his face. “He forgot his bookbag,” Yuuri said.

Otabek nodded, “He’s probably waiting outside the hall trying to figure out how to get it back.” He stood with Yuuri’s belongings in hand. “I should go, we’ve got Transfiguration together. It was nice to meet you both,” he said awkwardly.

Remembering his own schedule for the day, Yuuri jumped from his seat and said his good-byes. “I have Charms soon,” he said quickly, before leaving.

Victor hurriedly climbed out of his seat and fixed his robed. “I’ll walk you there,” he offered, “My class is near yours.”

Yuuri looked to Phichit for helped, before hesitantly looking back at Victor when he saw that Phichit was already waving them goodbye. “Okay,” he sighed.

They walked towards their next classes mostly in silence, save for the few questions Yuuri asked to attempt at a conversation. He couldn’t decide whether or not he was the only one feeling awkward in the silence or if Victor felt it too, but he reflected upon the events that led to this and frowned when he thought about his record for avoiding awkward situations. It was certainly broken now, he thought, twiddling his thumbs.

“Will you show me your drawings?” Victor asked, breaking up his thoughts. “They’re fantastic from what I saw.”

Graphite images of Victor’s expressions, of Victor duelling and him skating flashed through Yuuri’s mind. “I can’t,” he spat out.

“Why not?”

Yuuri subtly shifted his sketchbook behind his other texts. “I don’t have it with me right now,” he said quickly. 

“Then you’ll show them to me when you do?” Victor asked, grasping Yuuri’s free hand in excitement.

Yuuri nodded reluctantly, already planning to never carry his sketchbook around freely again.

“Well then,” Victor smiled, “I’ll see you soon at Coach Yakov’s.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not quite happy with this chapter, but after three different re-writes, I'm satisfied with this one. I hope you all have good day. The next chapter should be out quicker.


	5. Chapter 5

Yuuri hesitantly stepped into the classroom and sighed. It seems like Phichit couldn’t resist spreading the news that he was going to duel Yuri today. While he had just arrived from Arithmancy, arms burdened with his belongings and books, the room was burdened with a different matter. A larger crowd of students from various houses buzzed about, anticipating the event. Whether they decided to skip class or if they had a free period, Yuuri didn’t know. It was all so overwhelming. And from the way Coach Yakov looked, he wasn’t the only one dumbfounded by the numbers. 

He took another step in, hoping to discreetly make his way towards the mats, but a young Gryffindor turned and Yuuri could tell the exact moment when the underclassman recognized him. If his name being screeched and the mad sprint towards him didn’t send the message, the instant change of facial expression from interested to complete idolization did. 

The whole room turned it’s head to face him, as he was forced to search for somewhere to place his belongings so he could shake the eager Gryffindor’s hand. “Hello,” the boy blurted out hurriedly, trembling in unconcealed glee, “my name’s Kenjirou Minami, but most people call me Minami. You can call me whatever you want though, Yuuri. Are you nervous? Of course you aren’t. You’re the best dueller in Hogwarts.” 

Minami took a deep breath and continued,“I  _ love _ the way you duel. It’s like you analyze who your opponent is and instantly figure out how to defeat them in the quickest way possible.” He contorted his body into a pose, legs lunged backwards with his left arm angled and raised behind his head while his right pretended to wield a wand towards Yuuri. “Super awesome,” he changed position, “ultra suave,” new pose, “and unbelievably incredible.”

Yuuri resisted the urge to facepalm, and instead awkwardly patted Minami on the shoulder, suddenly feeling the need to escape. “Nice to meet you, Minami, but I’ve got to get to the mats.”

The young Gryffindor halted his posing, and smiled brilliantly at his role model, “I’ll be cheering for you!”

Making his way towards the mats, Yuuri took a breath of relief and waved back at him, smiling hesitantly. “Thanks, Minami,” he said before continuing.

He took a deep breathe as he reached the arena. Yuri was already on the mats, staring down at him, and he was pretty sure the regular announcer for Quidditich was there too, off to the side at a high vantage point. ‘ _ He isn’t going to be providing commentary is he? _ ’ Yuuri thought. Everyone’s eyes was on him, the tension in the room increasingly rose as he stood on the mats, he didn’t know if he could concentrate as another person made remarks about the duel. 

“Scared, Katsuki?” Yuri asked.

Yuuri ran his hand through his hair and replied, “Don’t underestimate me.”

They stood facing each other a few feet apart as they did the respective greeting. Once they were five paces away from each other, they spun on their heels and aimed their wands. Yuuri fell into his natural stance and felt a sudden recognition; it was exactly the same as what Minami did not too long ago. He stole a quick glance to the audience and saw not only Minami’s eyes, but also a set of crystal blue eyes focused on him.

Turning his attention back to the blonde in front of him, Yuuri flung a simple knockback spell to test Yuri’s capability and was pleasantly pleased to see him flick it away as if it was nothing. Most were surprised by it, expecting some sort of big showy charm instead, but no, it seemed like Yuri was expecting it. 

‘ _ Perhaps he saw my past duels, _ ’ Yuuri thought, as he blocked an incoming spell. He eyed Yuri’s stance, trying to find an opening but found none worth throwing a spell at. They cautiously circled each other, waiting, preparing for what the other would do.

Yuuri sent a stronger knockback spell.

Blocked.

A body lock charm.

Dodged.

A disarming spell.

Dispelled.

“ _ Incendio,”  _ Yuuri aimed towards the foot of the blonde, as fire sprayed from the tip of his wand. He was surprised how capable the Slytherin was, but after sending and blocking spells, Yuuri recognized what he always saw in duellers. 

An opening. 

And while Yuuri would admit the boy was good. He knew Yuri couldn’t focus on more than one spell at a time. It was easy to see as Yuuri tested the boy’s boundaries. For every spell Yuuri sent, the younger Yuri could only block until his mind could switch to the offense and send some of his own. 

Yuuri readied the counter-spell to his  _ Incendio  _ should Yuri not be able to put it out, but his worries were pointless, as Yuri immediately went to set the fires out. A huff of laughter escaped Yuuri’s lips, this was indeed interesting, but it was best that he ended it. He whipped a few knockback spells towards Yuri, despite him still putting out the flames, and while Yuri shielded against the majority of them, the last few struck him. 

His body flew across the mat.

Before the blonde could recover, Yuuri flicked an  _ Incarcerous  _ charm his way and stopped him there. He walked towards the tied up body on the ground, extinguishing the remaining flames as he went and kept his wand at the ready should Yuri free himself. He ran his hand through his sweaty hair, and paused to think. Perhaps he should end this now, so those who watched knew not to bother him in the future. Perhaps, he should teach the boy a lesson in picking better fights. Perhaps, this’ll be the end for Yuri.

Yuuri raised his wand once more.

And casted a tickling charm.

Immediately Yuri’s body wiggled and squirmed against the ties, as laughter and threats burst through his mouth. A booming voice called the duel to an end, naming Yuuri as the victor and the cheers that followed threw him back in surprise. 

For a moment there, he’d forgotten about the crowd. He tried thinking back to the moments before to remember if the crowd was completely silent or if his mind simply ignored them. Either way, relief settled into his bones, and the memory of the duel slowly faded away to the back of his mind. He stopped the tickling charm and released Yuri, before facing the crowd and smiled sheepishly. 

An arm hooked around his shoulders and pulled him in close. “Phichit, you owe me several sugar quills for this,” Yuuri said, turning his towards the owner of the arm. 

“I’ll give you as many sugar quills as you want for that performance, Yuuri,” Victor grinned, booping Yuuri on the nose with his other hand. “It was brilliant.”

“V-Victor,” Yuuri exclaimed in surprise.

“You really are skilled in duelling.”

Yuuri puffed his chest out and held his chin high. “I did say I could’ve taken you and the other Slytherins on.”

Victor lifted Yuuri’s hand and kissed it, “You’re ri-”

Yuri flew in with a kick to Victor’s back. “Stop stealing the attention, Victor,” he shouted and faced Yuuri, “and you, you need to relearn duelling etiquette if you’re just going to leave me to bow by myself.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Yuuri said before properly doing to the closing bow, “I got distracted.”

“It was humiliating,” Yuri said before clearing his throat, “Just for that you must help me with my duelling. You know, for not properly recognizing me afterwards.” He turned his head away, attempting to hide his rosy cheeks, and stammered, “Please.”

Yuuri looked at the younger boy and smiled, “Since you asked so nicely, I’ll do it, Yurio.”

“Yurio?” The other two boys questioned in unison. 

“Yurio seems like a proper name for you now, doesn’t it?” Yuuri reaffirmed. “After all, you did lose to me. And weren’t we duelling to see who’ll be called Yuuri?”

“What? No,” Yurio shouted, “I never said that.”

Yuuri looked at him disbelievingly, “Really? So you didn’t say ‘ _ There can only be one Yuri?’ _ ” 

Chuckling, Victor clapped Yurio on the back and agreed, “You did lose the duel,  _ Yurio.  _ Besides, it suits you.”

“Shut up, Victor. You,” Yurio pointed at Yuuri, “don’t forget your promise!” He angrily stomped off the platform and pushed through the crowd. Just before the crowd swallowed his figure completely, Yuuri noticed the sudden shift in the usually tense shoulders of the rage-filled boy. His posture softened and a gentle smile graced his face, as he quickened his stomps to a speedy walk. Judging the distance to his destination adequate, Yurio leapt inconspicuously into the arms of a dark-haired Ravenclaw and walked out with a spring in his step.

“Don’t mind Yurio’s words too much,” Victor informed. “He’s quite a softy at heart.”

“Oh, I can tell,” Yuuri replied, “he reminds me of a freshly-washed kitten; grumpy, pouty, and full of fight.”

Victor chuckled at the thought before he pulled out a well worn leather-bound sketchbook. “What do  _ I  _ remind you of? Because, from what I’ve seen in your drawings, you think of me quite often.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the positive responses! I really wish I could click a "this-brightened-up-my-day" button to show my appreciation, but I'm still somewhat new to ao3 and I don't know the system entirely, so I have to settle with thanking you all. <3


	6. Chapter 6

_ “What do I remind you of? Because, from what I’ve seen in your drawings, you think of me quite often.” _

 

A cold dread climbed up Yuuri’s spine, vanishing the warm flush from winning and joy. Time slowed as he processed what Victor held so casually within his hands: his thoughts, his secrets,  _ his heart _ . The smile that Yuuri drew countless of times seemed so mocking in light of the moment. 

His breath hitched as he attempted to calm down, but the knowledge that Victor  _ knew  _ what was inside his sketchbook overwhelmed him. It was too revealing. Victor knew too much. Frustrated, tears welled up in his eyes as he angrily looked away from Victor and the crowd. He blinked furiously in hopes they’ll magically disappear but it only made them fall over the edge, which in turn made him angrier at himself and Victor.

Stunned, Victor stood frozen at the sight of the tearful boy in front of him. He glanced at the book within his hands and flipped to his favorite page. “Why are you crying?” He asked, awkwardly shoving the artwork in front of Yuuri’s eyes and flipping through other pages. “Don’t be embarrassed. I like your artwork. They’re beautiful pieces.”

He stopped at a drawing of himself grinning stupidly and sweating next to Christophe. “You’ve captured the moment so wonderfully, Yuuri. Please,” he pleaded, “don’t cry. What should I do to help you stop?”

Anger bubbled up within Yuuri, as the tears continued to steadily run down his face. Victor didn’t understand what he held in his hands; how he had intruded in his bubble. He faced him and readied into position, “Get your wand out.”

Confusion settled onto Victor’s face. “What?”

“I said,” Yuuri seethed as much as he could through his sniffling and hiccups, “Get. Your. Wand. Out.”

Victor grabbed his wand and raised his arms in surrender. “Yuuri?” He questioned, “What - why - no, what’s going on?”

“Bow,” Yuuri sniffled, “we are duelling.”

“What,” Victor exclaimed, “why?”

“When I win,” Yuuri bowed, ignoring his questions, “you’ll forget what you saw in my sketchbook. You will never mention it, and you will never question it.”

“When  _ you _ win?” Victor smirked confidently, his competitiveness tickled. He bowed low, making a show of it. “When you  _ lose,  _ you’ll properly show me your sketchbook, commentary and all.”

“ _ Expelliarmus,” _ Yuuri begun, ducking from Victor’s counterattack. He had the advantage here. He’s seen numerous duels involving Victor so he knew Victor’s patterns, his style.

“What did I do to start this?” Victor asked, sending multiple hexes and charms towards Yuuri. 

“You looked in my sketchbook,” Yuuri shouted, shielding from the attacks.

“But you said you’ll show them to me.”

“On _ my _ terms, though,” countered Yuuri. He raised his arms above his head, conjuring hundreds of small, flaming birds. 

Eyes wide in wonder, Victor had seconds to admire the flock of fiery birds before they all came hurling towards him. Panicking he surrounded himself with thick walls of ice, praying they’ll last long enough against the pelting flames. Minutes passed as the sizzles of extinguishing fire slowed to a stop. Cautiously, he stepped from his shield, looked at the thinness of his remaining ice walls, and glanced at the Hufflepuff across from him. This was suddenly a lot more interesting.

Yuuri stared down the Slytherin from across the duelling mats, recovering from his spell, and chuckled breathlessly. He’d been working on that spell for quite some time and always wanted to try it out. He spun gracefully away from an oncoming  _ confundo.  _ That spell took months to work out, he thought, although he might need to enhance it further as Victor made apparent moments before. 

Running across the mat, Yuuri flicked his wand, gathered all the pushed back desks, and slung them towards his opponent. He cringed slightly as the wooden desks landed around the Slytherin in a near perfect circle. Regret filled him as he took in the damage, some desks were broken, splintered from the force, while others were barely intact. He could probably fix that afterwards, Yuuri thought hopefully. Panting, he continued blocking Victor’s spells and allowing those that he could withstand to hit. He was exhausted, but looking at the shape of Victor, Yuuri could still outlast in the long run.

However, it was moments like these when Victor was tired and out of breath that he would surprise his opponent with an unexpected spell. Wand at the ready, Yuuri decided he wasn’t going to give him a chance. “ _ Relashio.”  _ Instantly, Victor’s wand repelled from his hand, flying across the room and into the crowd. “Concede,” Yuuri huffed, completely out of breath, “you’ve lost your wand.”

Victor grinned slightly, chest heaving and raised his hands as if to surrender. “Do you know why they call me ‘Silver-Tongued’ Nikiforov?”

Aiming his wand at Victor, Yuuri prepared to send one last charm. “Is it because of your greying hair?”

Grasping his chest in shock, Victor stepped back, offended by the claim. “No,” he said petulantly. “ _ Flipendo.” _ He thrusted his arms forward, sending Yuuri’s body flying across the mats.

Yuuri groaned in pain as he rose from his harsh landing. “You can do wandless magic?” 

Victor sent him an apologetic smile before raising his hand again. Ice shards materialized out of thin air and rapidly rained upon Yuuri. He’d put a weak shield, but the shards slid through as if there was nothing there. 

“ _ BOMBARDA,”  _ Yuuri shouted, aiming at the larger shards of ice coming his way. He couldn’t imagine that being struck by those as pleasant. The papercut-like wounds from the smaller shards, he could manage, but definitely not the ice stakes. 

As the explosion hit the ice, they shattered into millions of tiny little piece, making Yuuri regret his decision again as now he expected to have thousands of papercuts upon his body.

“ENOUGH,” Coach Yakov roared, freezing the shards to their place. “Do you both intend to destroy my classroom?” 

The two boys looked about the classroom, taking in what they’ve done. Everything was strewn about. Once piled desks laid scattered across the room with various students, who were brave enough to remain, hiding behind them. Papers, scrolls, and general debris were sprinkled everywhere on the floor. Blast marks and burns decorated the walls from their blocked and misdirected spells. Ice shards that missed stook out of the walls as if they were casually pinned there. The room, to put it nicely, was a war zone.

Fury colored Yakov’s face a slight shade of purple as he too took another glance around his classroom. “Detention,” he seethed. Victor swore that he could spot him foaming at the mouth. “Detention to the both of you, indefinitely until this room is returned to the way it was and maybe even longer.”

“But Yakov,” Victor said smoothly, “we-”

“Do  _ not  _ try me right now, Victor,” Yakov nearly snarled. He took a deep breath, pinched the bridge of his nose, and exhaled slowly. “Everyone, out. Class dismissed.”

Yuuri and Victor stared at each other, contemplating whether or not they were involved in that “everyone.” Minutes passed as they awkwardly stood behind Yakov and watched the remaining students shuffle out the door. Furrowing his eyebrows in question, Yuuri silently urged Victor to exit first but he only replied with wide, worried eyes and a small shrug. Yuuri sighed, barely resisting the urge to facepalm, and tip toed his way to Victor. By the time he was close to Victor, Coach Yakov was practicing his breathing exercises again and from what Yuuri could see, counting backwards from a hundred. 

“Just go,” Yakov exhaled raggedly. Immediately Yuuri grabbed Victor’s hand and sprinted for the exit. There was no way he was going to stay in there with a fuming Yakov. Before they managed to escape, Coach Yakov warned, “I expect to see you both every other day here to clean after classes.”

Victor stared at his hand connected to Yuuri’s own and gave Yakov a thumbs up in approval before the classroom door closed behind him. Having detention with Yuuri wasn’t really a punishment, he thought. The contradicting Hufflepuff fascinated him and honestly, Victor hadn’t felt so motivated in a long time. He watched, as he sprinted behind Yuuri, still connected by hand, as the lights softened the Hufflepuff’s feature and highlighted the slight sheen of sweat on his face. Victor smiled softly to himself, thinking, ‘ _ Yeah, I haven’t felt this alive before.” _

They stopped at window seat Victor first cornered him at. They were both out of breath and sweating, but when Yuuri dropped his hand and turned to face him, Victor forgot to breathe for another reason. He wished he had Yuuri’s ability to capture the beauty and life in a single moment. With the bright skies visible from the window, Yuuri looked every bit ethereal as the light illuminated him from behind. He was talking but all Victor could think about was how brilliantly the sun’s glow shaped itself around Yuuri’s head like a halo. His fingers were itching to reach out, to touch, to see if the person in front of him was real, and instead of restraining himself, he let himself go. He gently brushed the bangs from out of Yuuri’s eyes and softly dragged his hands down to cup the Hufflepuff’s cheeks, slightly grazing his plump lips with his thumb.

Seconds later, a sharp pain reverberated from the hand he had held Yuuri with. “Stop teasing me, Victor,” Yuuri said after slapping his hand away. “I can’t- I won’t be played with just because you know.”

Confusion settled besides worry at the bottom of Victor’s gut. “Yuuri,” he said softly.

“You don’t have to say anything,” said Yuuri, steeling himself for his next words. “We can still be friends.”


	7. Chapter 7

_ “We can still be friends.”  _

The words echoed inside Victor’s mind, as he skated across the icy layer of the Great Lake. He’d come out here to clear his mind, but images of the Hufflepuff continuously invaded his thoughts. It was all he could think about; from the tears that fell from the sweet chocolate eyes to the stony expression Yuuri held before stating those haunting words. Victor could even swear that if he thought hard enough, he could still feel his hands sting from Yuuri’s rejection. 

He huffed. He had no time to recall what happened the other day. With everything going on, he rarely had the chance to enjoy his morning skating ritual and now that he was here, he had to make the most of it. He thrust his body into the air, practicing his neglected jumps. The last time he was out on the Great Lake was the morning he gave Yuuri his art supplies back, and even then, he couldn’t skate freely. 

_ “We can still be friends.”  _

What did Yuuri mean by that? Were they not friends before? Victor was positive that after all they’ve been through, they would surely be considered as friends by now. Afterall, he did save Yuuri from the group of bullies, and more importantly, they enjoyed breakfast together. 

Victor halted where he stood. “ _ Breakfast,” _ he exclaimed, before speeding towards his belongings off to the side. If he missed breakfast, he’ll miss Yuuri. He shoved everything into his bags and sprinted towards the Great Hall. His entire being shook with anticipation to see Yuuri smile and laugh. Victor didn’t know how Yuuri did it, but he captivated him. The entire range of different Yuuri’s captivated him, whether he was feeling shy today or heated with competitiveness, Victor didn’t care. Every side of Yuuri was his favorite.

He stopped before entering the hall to hide his excitement and fix his appearance. His memory of the sunlight basking in Yuuri’s beauty from the day before made his heart race faster than his sprint across campus.  _ His  _ Yuuri was waiting in there to have breakfast with him. Victor could not keep him waiting any longer. He took a deep breath, attempting to calm the butterflies ravaging his nerves, and stepped into the hall. His eyes immediately set upon the Slytherin tables, searching for the familiar set of glasses and frazzled hair. His racing heart slowing in disappointment as each scan of the tables proved that Yuuri wasn’t among them. He glanced over to the Hufflepuff’s and amongst all the yellow and black, he easily spotted Yuuri, carelessly laughing at something someone said. Reluctantly, Victor pulled his gaze away from his badger and sluggishly made his way to his usual seat.

He sighed as he slumped down near his group of friends, picking at the food around him and dropping them onto his plate. Just from where he was sitting, if he tilted his head slightly, Victor could just make out the left side of Yuuri’s face. 

The left side of Yuuri’s face was beautiful.

Yuuri is beautiful.

Victor sighed louder.

“What’s going on this time?” Mila blatantly asked Georgi. After years of dealing with Victor’s moods, she was past beating around the bush. She watched Victor push a broccoli around his plate with an elegant brow raised. “He usually doesn’t abuse his vegetables until stage four of his bemoaning.”

Georgi clasped his hands together. “I’ll recognize these signs anywhere,” he said, “our Victor is  _ pining _ .”

Yurio turned his head slightly in acknowledgement and scoffed, before returning to his conversation with Otabek. He was determined not to get involved with Victor’s love problems but he couldn’t resist reacting to what Georgi said.  _ ‘Pining, _ ’ he thought,  _ ‘was for those who don’t know what they want.’ _

Mila, on the other hand, had other plans. Throwing her arm over Yurio’s shoulders, she mussed his hair and grinned connivingly. “Yurio,” she cooed, “since you’re Victor’s favorite underclassman, why don’t you use your charm to ask him what’s wrong?”

Struggling against Mila’s strength, Yurio ferociously shook his head in attempt to escape but dropped his head onto the table in exhaustion as she held firm. He huffed, “Why should I? When you’ve known him longer?”

She tousled his hair vigorously, “Oh Yurio,” she cried out dramatically. “What will your precious friend think when I-”

“Okay!” Yurio shouted over her, jolting up in his seat. “I’ll sacrifice myself for the cause, but you owe me,” he said menacingly, as he got up and moved to sit in front of Victor. 

He waited for a moment before he realized that despite Victor’s gaze constantly flicking up to look past him, no hint of acknowledgement changed his expression. Yurio glanced over to Mila and Georgi watching and rolled his eyes. ‘Those fools,’ he thought, with Victor’s current mood and the position of the poor, unfortunate broccoli on his plate, he didn’t even have to turn around to know what, or rather who, was the cause of this pitiful moping.

Yurio cleared his throat before casually mentioning, “I heard that one of Hogwarts’ students is the representative of Japan’s Duelling Federation. Imagine my surprise when I found out it was Hufflepuff’s Yuuri.” Victor perked up at the name, suddenly very aware of the boy in front of him and what he was saying. “Anyways,” Yurio shrugged nonchalantly, “Coach Yakov wants me to remind you that he’s expecting you and Yuuri for detention today.” He nodded to himself as if proud of his accomplishment and slowly moved to return to his previous seats. A hand snatched his before he could leave, and it took everything that Yurio was not to turn around and grin maniacally. 

“What do you want?” Yurio asked, acting annoyed.

Victor released a nervous breath, “Will you tell me more about this Duelling Federation?”

“No,” Yurio replied.

“No?”

Yurio turned his head petulantly, “Ask him yourself.”

Victor sighed, “He doesn’t want to have breakfast with me.”

“Because he didn’t sit with you today?”

Victor nodded.

“Maybe he just wanted to sit with his other friends today. You don’t see me getting sad and pouty when Beka sits with his friends,” Yurio said, rolling his eyes. 

“You don’t understand,” Victor pouted, but nonetheless sat up straighter as he churned the idea. It made some sense. “What should I do, Yurio?”

“Talk to him, you idiot,” Yurio sighed, “or at the very least, you’ll see him at Yakov’s today.”

“You’re right, Yurio,” Victor stated firmly, standing from his seat. “I should talk to him.” Determined, he marched his way towards the Hufflepuff tables. He was going to talk to Yuuri and he was going to do it smoothly. Nothing could stop him. 

Nothing except for Yuuri’s lovely laugh. Victor’s long strides that started with confidence halted as he watched Yuuri’s entire being shake with laughter at something Phichit said. He clutched his chest as a sharp pang seized his heart and disappeared as quick as it came. Yuuri has never made that expression in the vicinity of him. 

Dazed, Victor crossed the remaining distance and tapped Yuuri’s shoulder for attention. A terrible action on his part since, as Yuuri turned around, his mind went completely blank.

“Victor?” Yuuri said, surprised.

“I want you at detention,” Victor blurted out.

“What?”

“No,” Victor ran his hand through his hair, “I mean, Yakov wants us at detention. He wants  _ us  _ at detention, sorry.”

Yuuri turned back to his plate and nodded slowly before replying, “Thank you for telling me that.”

Victor grinned, “I’ll see you there?”

Yuuri shook his head hurriedly, “Yeah. Yes. I mean, definitely,” he stuttered.

Satisfied with how the conversation was going, Victor went in for a hug to say goodbye but froze when Yuuri recoiled back. “Sorry,” he apologized, “I’ll see you at Yakov’s later.” Disheartened at Yuuri’s reaction, Victor walked away with a frown marring his face.

=0=

“Because of you two, I’ve had to change to an entirely new room,” Yakov said eerily calm. “Headmistress McGonagall is currently debating whether our duelling sessions is safe for Hogwarts, and I’m having to write a detailed report about what happened and why.” He took a deep breath, “I don’t even know  _ why  _ it even happened, so if one of you will like to explain.”

Yuuri and Victor looked to each other in hesitation. Honestly, Victor felt like he didn’t know the real reason either, but he didn’t want to cast the blame solely on Yuuri. Yuuri, on the other hand, downright refused to confess about his crush on Victor  _ to  _ Yakov  _ with Victor there. _ It made no sense. As the seconds ticked by, with Yakov exponentially losing his patience, Yuuri winced and stepped forward to tell the best lie he could. To lie even though he was confirmed the worst at hiding anything. He was a Hufflepuff for a reason. 

“You probably don’t know this, but I’ve started to come see the duels recently,” Yuuri started, wondering where he was going with it. “It all just happened really fast. Yuri demanded I duel him, and now I’m suppose to help him?” His arms moved exaggeratedly with what he was saying. “Then I have this notebook, and...and…”

“And I challenged him to a duel,” Victor broke in. 

“That's it?” Yakov said incredulously, “You obliterated my classroom for a challenge?

Victor shrugged.

Yakov clasped his hands together with a sigh and simply nodded. “Okay,” he breathed out, “both of you will have detention until the classroom is repaired  _ without  _ magic. Furthermore, neither of you are allowed to duel throughout the punishment.” He took their wands, gave them a stern look, and cleared his throat, “Impressive work with the fire bird spell, Yuuri, but never stand still when shards of icicles are coming towards you. Also, instead of shattering them into tiny pieces, you should have utilized your abilities to manipulate fire and melted them.” He patted Victor on the shoulder, “You, you need to stop escalating each duel. Focus on disarming your opponent, not impressing them. But,” he looked away, “good job, both of you.”

Yakov left the two boys stunned in the debris of what use to be a classroom. Neither expected constructive criticism from him, if anything, just a lot of exhausted sighs and counting backwards. 

Victor turned to Yuuri confused, “He does know I can do wandless magic, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Everyone! Now that failed my finals, I can focus more on writing so hopefully I can get back to continuously updating without the long months in between.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read this. Send kudos or comment what you think, they're really inspirational.


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